The Massachusetts Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Act (M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 189A–199B) requires that residential property built before 1978 where a child under six will reside must be either deleaded or brought into interim control. However, the law includes a specific exemption: short-term vacation or recreational rentals of 31 days or less are not subject to the Lead Law requirements.

In this case, the home was built in 1950 (pre-1978), but since it is a two-week summer rental, the Lead Law does not apply. All other real estate laws, including Fair Housing, still apply, and an unlicensed assistant may not independently handle transactions. Security deposits remain capped by law (equal to one month’s rent maximum).

B, a real-estate listing agreement, is correct. Massachusetts Board contract curriculum specifically provides that listing contracts may be written or oral, although sound professional practice strongly favors written agreements.

The Massachusetts Statute of Frauds generally requires a sufficient signed writing for contracts for the purchase or sale of real property to be enforceable against the party to be charged. Agreements that cannot be performed within one year also generally fall within the Statute of Frauds, which makes a twenty-year oral lease an inappropriate answer.

An oral listing agreement should not be confused with an oral contract transferring ownership of real estate. A listing agreement is fundamentally an employment relationship between broker and client rather than the conveyance itself.

Written listings are preferable because they establish price, duration, scope of authority, brokerage relationship, compensation, and termination provisions and significantly reduce evidentiary disputes.

Study Guide Reference: Contracts — Listing Agreements and Massachusetts Statute of Frauds.

Carbon monoxide (CO) inspections are required in Massachusetts for properties that use fossil fuels for heating or other purposes (e.g., natural gas, oil). This is a part of the state’s regulations to protect tenants and homeowners from dangerous levels of carbon monoxide exposure.

The inspection is typically done at the same time as the smoke detector inspection, and there is no additional fee if both inspections are conducted at once. However, the inspection must be completed by the local fire department, not a building inspector. This is because the fire department is authorized to ensure that carbon monoxide detectors are in place and functioning properly.

The carbon monoxide inspection is indeed a prerequisite for selling residential property that burns fossil fuel, but it does not need to be conducted by a building inspector.

Thus, the incorrect statement is that the inspection must be done by a building inspector.

Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 151B, § 4) prohibits discrimination in housing based on receipt of public assistance, such as Section 8 housing vouchers or other government aid. If a seller instructs a broker not to show a property to prospective buyers or renters receiving government assistance, the broker cannot legally comply with that request.

The broker’s fiduciary duty to the client does not extend to violating fair housing law. In such cases, the broker must refuse the listing because accepting it would require them to engage in unlawful discriminatory practices. Reporting to the Board or MCAD is not required; the appropriate action is simply to refuse participation in illegal activity.

This aligns with the Massachusetts Real Estate Licensing Law and MCAD enforcement rules, which hold licensees personally responsible for discriminatory conduct in real estate transactions.

The Massachusetts State Sanitary Code (105 CMR 410) establishes minimum standards for human habitation. Landlords are required to ensure that rental units are kept in a safe, sanitary, and habitable condition at all times. This includes maintaining heating systems, hot water, structural integrity, pest control, and ensuring compliance with health and safety standards.

While landlords may provide a statement of condition when collecting a security deposit (per M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B), this is not part of the Sanitary Code itself. Similarly, no law requires inspections every six months or a 24-hour notice of entry (although reasonable notice is considered best practice and is recommended in case law).

The essential legal requirement is habitability. Tenants have the right to withhold rent or seek remedies if the landlord fails to maintain the property in compliance with the Sanitary Code. Local boards of health enforce these regulations.

The correct answer is B, Massachusetts intestate succession law. When a person dies without a valid will, property that forms part of the probate estate is distributed according to the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code rather than according to a broker ' s judgment or informal family preference.

Massachusetts law establishes an order of succession for heirs other than a surviving spouse. Depending on who survives the decedent, the estate may pass to descendants, parents, descendants of parents, or other next of kin according to statutory rules.

A surviving spouse ' s share is governed by separate provisions and depends on family circumstances.

Candidates must also remember that not all property passes through probate. Property held in joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety with a right of survivorship can pass directly to the surviving co-owner by operation of law. Massachusetts probate guidance expressly identifies survivorship property as property that may fall outside the probate estate.

The older phrase “statute of descent and distribution” describes the same general concept, but intestate succession is the clearer current terminology.

Study Guide Reference: Transfer of Title — Intestate Succession, Probate, Heirs and Survivorship.

The correct answer is B, $125,000. Massachusetts Chapter 188 provides an automatic homestead exemption of $125,000 for qualifying principal residences even when the owner has not recorded a formal homestead declaration.

The protection is intended to shield specified home equity from certain creditor claims, subject to statutory exceptions. It does not defeat every possible lien or enforcement action. Taxes, certain pre-existing liens, mortgages, support orders, and specified judgments can fall outside the protection.

For joint tenants or spouses holding as tenants by the entirety, the automatic exemption generally remains a single $125,000 protection rather than multiplying automatically by the number of owners.

This figure must be distinguished from the larger protection available through a recorded declaration.

Study Guide Reference: Property Ownership — Massachusetts Homestead Protection; M.G.L. c.188.

The correct answer is C, Five. Massachusetts establishes a five-member Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons to administer and enforce the Commonwealth ' s professional licensing framework for real-estate brokers and salespersons.

The Board ' s functions include implementing licensing requirements, establishing professional standards, addressing disciplinary matters, regulating education requirements within its statutory authority, and protecting consumers who engage real-estate professionals.

The Board includes professional and public representation rather than being composed exclusively of industry members. This structure is intended to combine subject-matter expertise with consumer/public oversight.

Candidates should distinguish the Board from professional trade organizations. The Board is a government regulatory body exercising authority granted by Massachusetts law. Organizations such as REALTOR® associations are private professional organizations and do not issue Massachusetts real-estate licenses.

The Board also should not be confused with a local planning board, zoning board of appeals, conservation commission, or Board of Assessors, each of which performs very different governmental functions relating to real estate.

Study Guide Reference: Massachusetts License Law — Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons; Board Composition and Regulatory Authority.

The correct answer is B. Massachusetts permits disclosed dual agency, but a licensee cannot secretly act as agent for both sides.

Both buyer and seller must give the required informed consent to the dual-agency relationship. The disclosure and consent process is designed to ensure each principal understands that the agent ' s ordinary fiduciary ability to advocate exclusively for one side becomes limited.

A dual agent must not disclose confidential negotiating information from one client to the other without authorization. Examples include a buyer ' s willingness to pay more or a seller ' s willingness to accept less.

Undisclosed dual agency presents serious conflicts and can expose the licensee to disciplinary and civil consequences.

Massachusetts Board curriculum expressly recognizes consensual dual agency in both residential and commercial transactions and requires appropriate disclosure and consent procedures.

Study Guide Reference: Agency — Disclosed Dual Agency and Informed Consent.

The correct answer is B. Massachusetts does not prescribe a universal statutory commission split between an employing broker and an affiliated salesperson. Compensation arrangements are generally established through the contractual or employment relationship between the broker and salesperson.

A salesperson must remain affiliated with and supervised by the broker and cannot operate as an independent brokerage. The broker remains responsible for transactions and the handling of client funds. Massachusetts Board consumer guidance expressly recognizes that salespersons may be employees or independent contractors while remaining under broker supervision.

Commission rates themselves are also negotiable, not government-fixed. Any agreement among competing brokerage firms to establish uniform commissions could create antitrust concerns.

A brokerage might use a traditional percentage split, graduated split, salary, team structure, commission cap, or another lawful compensation model. The exact economic arrangement depends on the firm ' s policies and the parties ' agreement.

The salesperson may not bypass the employing broker by independently collecting brokerage compensation directly from a client.

Study Guide Reference: Massachusetts License Law — Broker/Salesperson Relationship, Supervision and Compensation.